What it’s like to stand here
ROXs 12 b
weight
34.16 g
sun
0.01× as wide
sky
deep orange

Illustration computed from this world’s measured and derived values, not a photograph.

ROXs 12 b

ROXs 12 b is a confirmed gas-giant exoplanet 446 ly from Earth in the constellation Scorpius, discovered in 2013 by W. M. Keck Observatory.

Imaging: photographed directly, as a faint point of light beside its star.

ROXs 12
host star
12.20 R⊕
radius
5,085 M⊕
mass · measured
orbital period
-260°C (-436°F)
avg temp
Human scale

ROXs 12 b is a giant ball of gas with no solid surface to stand on; you would simply sink into ever-thicker cloud. Its orange dwarf looks 0.01× as wide as ours, bathing the cloud tops in deep orange light. At an estimated -260°C (-436°F) it is colder than almost anywhere in the solar system.

34.16 g
surface gravity (no solid surface · measured mass)
one year, in Earth time
0.01× as wide
how big its sun looks vs ours
deep orange
midday sky tint
0.0×
how high you could jump vs Earth
normal
day/night cycle (not tidally locked)
Calculate your exact weight on ROXs 12 b
Earth Similarity Index0.02#5,776 of 5,788 ranked worlds

How closely this world matches Earth in size and warmth, from 0 to 1 (Earth = 1.0). Computed by gravityfinder. See every world ranked →

What these mean: surface gravity · tidal locking · equilibrium temperature · Earth similarity

If your children grew up herea playful thought experiment
NO GROUND: A DRIFTER, NOT A WALKER

There is no ground here to grow up on, only bottomless sky. A child could never stand, walk, or even fall to a surface, because there isn't one. Under 34.2 times Earth's gravity and pressure that only climbs the deeper you go, anything built for this world would not look human at all: picture something closer to a deep-sea creature than a person, broad and buoyant, drifting through the cloud decks with no need for legs and no floor to land on.

Body plan
Floating, not upright
With no surface and no fixed up or down, a skeleton built for standing would be useless; a drifting, gas-filled body would not.
Build
Broad and pressure-hardened
Pressure rises without limit toward the interior, so anything alive would have to be built like a deep-sea animal, not a land one.

A playful thought experiment from this world’s gravity, not a prediction about any real person. No human has ever grown up off Earth, so no one truly knows; the direction (taller in low gravity, shorter and stockier in high) follows how growing bodies respond to weight.

Hear how a voice sounds herea computed acoustic demo

Your voice would sound a thin, helium-fast squeak.

There is no surface to stand on, and we have no temperature for this world, so its cloud-top acoustics cannot be modelled. In hydrogen-helium air sound races, so a voice would leap to a thin, almost cartoonish squeak.

The journey
Cosmic travel advisory
☆☆☆☆
Do not travel
  • !There is nowhere to land: no ground, no deck, only cloud that thickens into crushing pressure.
  • !Earth-similarity index 0.02: this world has almost nothing in common with our own.

A playful read of ROXs 12 b’s measured and computed values, not a real advisory.

How long to get there · 446 ly away
Jet airliner
534 million years
dies en route1000-yr cryo: fails
Parker Solar Probethe fastest craft ever built
695,105 years
dies en route1000-yr cryo: fails
Light speed
446 years
dies en route1000-yr cryo: survives
Warp 10
163 days
arrives thriving
Folding spacetimeinstant, plus 1 hr of paperwork
1 hour
arrives thriving
Size vs Earth
EarthROXs 12 b is 12× the width of Earth
Explore from here · roam the neighborhood

Zoom out: star → system → (soon) galaxy arm, host black hole, and a real image of the host galaxy.

Can you see it tonight? · observe
FAINT: LARGE TELESCOPE NEEDED
Host-star brightnessmag 14.8
ConstellationScorpius
To see the host star10"+ (250 mm) telescope, dark sky
Gear bridge

Matched telescope & eyepiece recommendations are coming. Any product links will carry a clear affiliate disclosure.

Common questions

What is the gravity on ROXs 12 b?

ROXs 12 b is a gas giant with no solid surface to stand on. At its cloud tops, gravity pulls about 34 times as hard as Earth's.

How far is ROXs 12 b from Earth?

ROXs 12 b lies about 446 light-years from Earth.

How long would it take to get to ROXs 12 b?

At the speed of NASA's Parker Solar Probe, the fastest craft ever built, the journey would take about 695,105 years.

How hot is ROXs 12 b?

ROXs 12 b's equilibrium temperature, the balance it reaches from its star's light alone before any greenhouse warming, is about -260°C (-436°F).

Illustration generated from ROXs 12 b's confirmed parameters, not a photograph.